Former world middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik says he will hang up his gloves for good after a thirteen-year pro career. Pavlik says he is retiring to avoid possible damage in the future. According to the WBC, Pavlik said, “I conquered the world title, I defended it, I was the king of the division for three years and made good money. I’ve been fighting for thirteen years and I’ve been in boxing since I was nine. I now want to spend more time with my family.” Pavlik was going to fight world super middleweight and light heavyweight champion Andre Ward on January 26th but Ward got injured and the fight was postponed. Pavlik turns thirty one in April. If the retirement sticks, Pavlik walks away with a stellAr 40-2 record, highlighted by a seventh-round stoppage of Jermain Taylor in 2007 that earned him the true world middleweight championship. Pavlik, a Youngstown, Ohio hero, got off the canvas to stop Taylor that night, and proved it was no fluke by winning a rematch the following year. After that, alcohol troubles reduced his effectiveness, and he lost to Bernard Hopkins in a non-title light heavyweight bout in 2008 and then passed the world middleweight championship to Sergio Martinez in a 2010 loss. Pavlik had won four in a row against decent competition since the Martinez loss. Boxingtalk wishes Kelly Pavlik a happy and successful retirement. --Scott Shaffer